Beverage products are commonly supplied for consumption in disposable cups, these cups often being provided with a lid to prevent spillage, such as when carried. Also, where the beverage product is a hot product, the lid acts to maintain the temperature of the beverage product.
Conventional lids are inadequate for use with beverage bag units, as the drawstring has to pass between the lid and the cup, thus breaking the seal as normally provided by the lid, and requiring the lid to be removed in order to remove the beverage bag on attainment of a beverage product at the required strength.
More recently, a lid has been developed for use with a tea bag which includes a cross-shaped slit through which the drawstring is threaded, such that, following a required infusion, the drawstring is drawn up through the slit to cause the tea bag to be drawn into the slit and be held captive thereby.
This lid still, however, suffers from a number of disadvantages. Notably, the drawstring has to be pre-threaded, both because it is particularly difficult to thread the drawstring through the slit, akin to threading the eye of a needle but where the slit does not present an aperture, and because the tab, which is provided to the drawstring to allow a user to raise the tea bag, has to be attached to the drawstring following threading. In addition, as the drawstring is a tight fit in the slit, the tea bag cannot be repeatedly dunked in the beverage, as required to obtain a strong infusion. Furthermore, in requiring the tea bag to be forcibly drawn up into the slit, the tea bag can be ruptured by the sharp edges of the slit, leading undesirably to the leakage of tea leaves into the cup, and the drawstring can even be separated from the tea bag, which could occur prior to the tea bag being held captive in the slit and lead to the tea bag remaining in the cup and providing for over-infused tea.